I’d love to know which one of the janitors in my building keeps posting on this site about whitey. I’ll have you’re low-class dark ass out on the street so fast it’ll make your bean eating head spin. Why don’t you mind your business and get back to work taking out the trash and cleaning up after your masters.

]]>https://rg88.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/more-shit-from-whitey/feed/0rg88Hotels spring up in unsold condoshttps://rg88.wordpress.com/2008/12/15/hotels-spring-up-in-unsold-condos/
https://rg88.wordpress.com/2008/12/15/hotels-spring-up-in-unsold-condos/#respondMon, 15 Dec 2008 04:54:13 +0000http://rg88.wordpress.com/?p=20According to Crain’s New York (full article below), there are possible illegal short term rentals in the Douchebag Dormitory AKA 88 Greenwich. Is the Andrew Heiberger, developer, responsible? No comment? Suspicious.

Hmm, that doesn’t explain the douchebag factor though. Not all the douchebags are tourists or visiting businessmen. Some actually own and live here full time. Besides the douchebaggery of it all, there is also some downright stupidity, like this quote from an 88 Greenwich owner:

Condo owners are becoming suspicious. “You’ll see people in the lobby, eating breakfast, and they’re just not dressed like they’re going to work,” says one resident who lives at 88 Greenwich, where breakfast service is a prized amenity. The resident requested anonymity because the homeowners’ association is feuding with the building’s developers about this very issue. The building remains 20% unsold, according to its management office, which also insists that the building does not offer rentals.

No rentals? How about the National @ 88 Greenwich Street? Or Oakwood Worldwide? Hell, you can even book on Expedia. There is plenty reason to be suspicious that the building is being used as a hotel because of internet postings like the National and Oakwood, but “not dressed like they are going to work”? LAME. RE-TAARDED. Not all of us are suits. Nor do all of us work 9 to 5 jobs. Don’t forget the trophy wives and the trustafarians. Also, so people get dressed AFTER they eat breakfast. So sorry neighbor, your 15 minutes of anonymous fame in a news article just make you sound like a ‘tard. You need better evidence than that. Like how about the people in suitcases being “checked-in” by the doorman when they arrive at the building. Now you are building a case here. But “just not dressed like they’re going to work” makes you sound like a dipshit.

With tourism on the wane, posh hotels like the Plaza are grappling with fewer bookings. They’re also facing competition from an unlikely source: Manhattan landlords.

Building owners have long dabbled in the hospitality industry, illegally renting out empty units in their properties on a short-term or nightly basis. But in a new twist, the clandestine hotels are popping up in luxury apartment buildings in the financial district, where developers have struggled to sell all their units.

“We get a steady stream of complaints from around Manhattan,” says Shari Hyman, director of the mayor’s office of special enforcement, which is charged with rooting out illegal hotels. “But the problem of places downtown and in the Wall Street area has been coming to our attention recently.”

These illegal hotels tend to appear in older, rent-stabilized buildings and tenements, in midtown or the Upper East and Upper West sides. By comparison, the newest crop of accommodations offer quite an upgrade.

The downtown building boom led to a glut of luxury condo developments in former office buildings near Wall Street. As several of these high-rises remain unfilled, developers and landlords are making “other arrangements” to squeeze a return out of their investment.

Offering these vacant units as short-term “corporate housing,” which falls into a gray area of the law, they’ve found willing occupants in the influx of visiting professionals dealing with the unraveling of Wall Street, as well as tourists looking for deals.

A quick search of sites such as Hotels.com, Expedia.com or Craigslist reveals a host of short-term rental options in fancy downtown buildings such as 88 Greenwich St. and the Ocean Building—decidedly not the one-night-stand type.

Lots of extras

“Building amenities include full concierge service, library, deluxe sundeck, party room, billiards room and a full fitness center with complimentary yoga,” reads travel site Expedia.com’s description of 88 Greenwich. Calls to the building’s developer, Buttonwood Real Estate President Andrew Heiberger, were not returned.

Craigslist postings offer rates ranging from $175 to $250 or more per night in the Ocean Building, a luxury residence at 1 West St. The management office of building owner Moinian Group confirms that both leasing agents for the Ocean Building and individual owners post on Craigslist for short-term rentals.

Meanwhile, two-bedroom units for sale in these buildings were recently listed in the $1.6 million to $1.7 million range.

Throughout the city, complaints about landlords operating illegal hotels rose sharply in 2008, according to data recently released by the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement. City authorities have raided 55 suspected establishments so far this year, issuing 310 violations—a 17% increase over last year, when they conducted 32 surprise inspections.

Condo owners are becoming suspicious. “You’ll see people in the lobby, eating breakfast, and they’re just not dressed like they’re going to work,” says one resident who lives at 88 Greenwich, where breakfast service is a prized amenity. The resident requested anonymity because the homeowners’ association is feuding with the building’s developers about this very issue. The building remains 20% unsold, according to its management office, which also insists that the building does not offer rentals.

The remaining units may not be sold for some time. Downtown condos have become even harder to sell recently, as prices in more desirable areas of the city drop, says real estate agent Avi Bellucha, an owner of a Manhattan Connection franchise.

“The major appeal of the financial district was getting into a luxury apartment building for less money,” Mr. Bellucha says. “Why would you move there now, when for the same amount you can get a great apartment in a proper neighborhood?”

The financial district is only the latest addition to the illegal hotel circuit. The rest of the city has been grappling with the issue for years.

State Sen. Liz Krueger, who once counted nearly 200 illegal hotels in her midtown district, recently proposed legislation to increase the penalties for hospitality hustling. The current fine is just $800 per building. “It’s a huge problem and can be scary for a lot of people,” says Ms. Krueger. “You like to think you know your neighbors.”

Adapting grudgingly

Residents in those buildings have learned to adapt to revolving neighbors, though grudgingly.

Murray Hill resident Jeremy Redleaf, a 24-year old voice-over producer, describes himself and his roommates as the only “real tenants” in their East Side apartment building. The other apartments play host to a diverse cast of characters, ranging from diplomats to attachés, actors to escorts.

“You hear lots of shuffling and moving furniture at weird times,” says Mr. Redleaf. “They’re in and out so fast, there’s no point in really getting to know the people.”

I recently moved into a large 1 bedroom unit at 88 Greenwich, and I have some reservations about the decision.

At first blush, the building seemed like exactly what I wanted; a condo building with good amenities and top quality furnishings. And while the building amenities are indeed very impressive (the common areas are beautiful and the staff is very friendly), and the apartments have Viking/Subzero appliances, there are some things that bring the experience down for me.

For one thing, I’ve discovered that while this building is indeed a condo development, most of the units are studios or small one bedrooms, which are used as rentals. This inevitably attracts a set of people which are not what you’d expect from an upscale building (college kids, first year i-bank associates, frat boys doing shares), and this hurts the image greatly. There are also a few apartments used as model dorms, and while that provides great eye candy on occasion, the girls are usually loud and obnoxious european children with little or no consideration for the other residents.

On the weekend evenings, the harbor room (main common area) is usually packed with immature fratty kids drinking cans of PBR and being generally obnoxious. Not the upscale scene described by the real estate people.

There also seems to be an inordinate number of europeans in general, which is fine, except they all seem to absolutely refuse to speak english in the common areas. It is beyond rude and extremely antisocial.

Overall, I’m happy with my apartment, but wish the building was not populated as it seems to be. Unfortunately, it seems to be in danger of becoming a more upscale 2 Gold Street, which should be something that the owners and management company should be very, very concerned about.

The stereotyping of all “college kids, first year i-bank associates, frat boys doing shares” is too simplistic, although most certainly true in most cases. I’ve also encountered some bitchy passive aggressive trophy wives, their douchey Wall Street middle management husbands, and “the stroller mafia” of young parents who let their kids loose in common areas and park their strollers filled with their crying Aryan spawn in the middle of common area hallways, so don’t just blame the kids!

If you care that much about an exclusive high end atmosphere, perhaps some posh co-op would have suited you better. Or move to a gated community in the the fucking suburbs and buy a gun.

And what’s the reviewer’s thing against Europeans? Why should people not speak their own language if they aren’t talking to YOU? Stupid ignorant American, why don’t you go learn another language. I suggest Chinese, since they own your asses already. Or how about Spanish? That way you can beg for mercy when America’s Hispanic working class revolts and has your white ass against the wall. That will be the true Reconquista of AmeriKKKa.

Can’t wait for the upcoming economic apocalypse. Maybe that will cut down on the Wall Street douchebaggery in NY and signal the return of knife-wielding tranning hookers to cut yo’ faces.

]]>https://rg88.wordpress.com/2008/09/30/response-to-opinion-of-88-greenwich-aka-the-douchebag-dormitory/feed/0rg88Activism at 88 Greenwichhttps://rg88.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/activism-at-88-greenwich/
https://rg88.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/activism-at-88-greenwich/#respondThu, 14 Aug 2008 12:25:36 +0000http://rg88.wordpress.com/?p=13Apparently, there has been a colorful history of resident activism at the Douchbag Dormitory AKA 88 Greenwich AKA Greenwich Club Residences:

This morning at the continental breakfast buffet at the Douchebag Dormitory, a rich white bitch, with her Aryan spawn and Asian domestic in tow decided to make conversation with “the help,” a Latina women who sets up the breakfast.

Rich Bitch: Where is your “hee-hoe?” (hijo)

The Help: Oh, my son? He is at my home.

Rich Bitch: Ok, oh, so he is at home. Great.

Moral of this story: Don’t butcher other people’s language. Especially when they speak perfectly good English. Otherwise, you sound like Peggy Hill from King of the Hill speaking Texican. I bet this bitch is the kind of whitey that “namastes” her Tibetan nanny, and honors “oriental” culture by using chopsticks, eating sushi, loving Pad Thai, and practicing yoga too. Lay off biatch. Don’t steal other people’s culture and appropriate it badly.

The organization said it would announce plans on Monday for a $1 million prize to the “first person to come up with a method to produce commercially viable quantities of in vitro meat at competitive prices by 2012.”

The idea of getting the next Chicken McNugget out of a test tube is not new. For several years, scientists have worked to develop technologies to grow tissue cultures that could be consumed like meat without the expense of land or feed and the disease potential of real meat. An international symposium on the topic was held this month in Norway. The tissue, once grown, could be shaped and given texture with the kinds of additives and structural agents that are now used to give products like soy burgers a more meaty texture.

Nasty! The real question is, would anybody actually want to eat meat the comes out of a test tube? If you really want fake meat, get it here. The fried chicken patties taste damn good, so does the fake mutton. The real question is, if you really are a vegetarian for ethical reasons, wouldn’t just the idea of eating flesh (real or fake) gross you out? I like fake meat just for the novelty and artifice of it all, but I will gladly concede that fake meat isn’t necessarily healthier for me, since it’s still a heavily processed food product, no different from Cool Whip or cheese in a can.

Corporate marketing brought us the scourge of consumer profiling, politics falsehoods of empty paternalistic vagaries about how government can save us wretches from the crushing drudgery of our sordid, meaningless existence. Now the Times, in the something-hundredth entry in their fire-hydrant torrent of self-indulgent verbal diarrhea about the election of our next presidential failure, proudly announces the intersection of the two in this tiresome, fetid excuse for journalistic relevance.

A few gems:

If what we eat says a lot about who we are, it also says something about how we might vote.

America elects its own. Taft got his bovine ass stuck in a bathtub. Nixon lied about shit. Clinton got blowjobs at the office, and all his friends are in jail. Bush? Love him or hate him, the dude’s wiped out a hell of a lot of Arabs. Yeah, these sound like the aspirations of most Americans. So what does food say? Nothing. Morbid obesity knows no political party. Just ask Denny Hastert or Sally Struthers.

Although precincts and polls are being parsed, the political advisers to the presidential candidates are also looking closely at consumer behavior

This they are, mein freund. This they are.

Political strategists slice and dice the electorate into small segments, starting with traditional demographics like age and income, then mixing consumer information like whether you prefer casinos or cruises, hunting or cooking, a Prius or a pickup.

Mob lynchings or assassinations.

“This is essentially the way Williams-Sonoma knows which of its catalogs to send you,” said Christopher Mann of MSHC Partners, a political communications firm

Way to brand yourself dude. Let me guess, you are piloting an Escalade through north Dallas on your way to a middle school softball game, with a Panini in one hand, your blackberry in another and wrap-around sunglasses with a sport string. Can I get an A-MAYUN from the congregation???

For example, Dr Pepper is a Republican soda. Pepsi-Cola and Sprite are Democratic. So are most clear liquors, like gin and vodka, along with white wine and Evian water. Republicans skew toward brown liquors like bourbon or scotch, red wine and Fiji water.

Mr. Navin offers an example from his firm’s ongoing survey that periodically asks 1,800 people in-depth questions about their lives.

Like, what do I think about when I jack off? Sheep=votes republican. Catholic choirboys=democrat. Black male crack-whores=evangelical preachers.

In last summer’s polling, the latest available, Mrs. Clinton scored high among voters who also had favorable views of McDonalds, Wal-Mart and Starbucks.

You can take the woman out of Arkansas, but…

Although Mr. Penn, who claims credit for coining the term “soccer mom,”

The Nobel Institute misses another one.

Send an environmental message to the conservative and you could lose her vote.

Vote losers for conservatives would also be the support of black suffrage, elimination of the “colored” balcony at movie theaters, and legal permission for women to show their bare ankles in public.

The oysters are coated with corn flour, gently fried and then slipped back into their shells and covered with an adventurous, Morrocan-style sauce seasoned with ground whole lemons, garlic, cayenne and paprika. It’s the ultimate crossover dish, and she believes it’s popular this year because voters are being pulled in several directions.

How about a rare hamburger on rosemary focaccia, with a side of ginger-braised aborted fetus?

]]>https://rg88.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/candidates-court-the-fatass-vote/feed/0rg88Douche of the Day 1https://rg88.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/douche-of-the-day-1/
https://rg88.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/douche-of-the-day-1/#respondFri, 18 Apr 2008 15:15:39 +0000http://rg88.wordpress.com/?p=42.5 douchebags for the price of 1 today! Happy Friday from RG88.

]]>https://rg88.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/douche-of-the-day-1/feed/0rg88Welcome to the Douchebag Dormitoryhttps://rg88.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/welcome_to_the_douchebag_dormitory/
https://rg88.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/welcome_to_the_douchebag_dormitory/#respondThu, 17 Apr 2008 21:22:28 +0000In the wind-swept corridors of lower Manhattan, there is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to all decent peoples, as vast as space, as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between the FDR and West Side Highway, between boundless irrationality and the sobriety of fundamental analysis, and it lies in the pregnant gap between man’s failures and the summit of his trading success.

It is an area which we call the Douchebag Dormitory, home to an eclectic band of derivative analysts, ivy-league underachievers, and desperate socio-educational climbers. This is a place of congress for society’s outcast, a gilded wonderland of floor lights, lazy doormen, and institutionally-controlled ambience music.

The lights are much brighter there; you can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares, so go DOWNTOWN: where all the lights are bright, DOWNTOWN: waiting for you tonight, DOWNTOWN: you’re gonna be alright, now.

Just take the 1 to Rector, but ignore those sinister directives about being in the first five cars. Surface at great risk to your innocence and you will see The Four Corners of American indulgence, featuring the confluence of carnal lust (Pussycat Lounge…”what’s new?”), gluttony (dios mio!), consumerism (“An informed consumer is our best customer”) and, to top it all off, the towering monument to Wall Street bravado that is The Dorm.